Great content is essential for effective social media efforts, whether you’re a non-profit or not. Crafting an editorial plan can streamline your content creation process and ensure your message reaches the right audience. In this guide, we’ll show you how to develop your own editorial plan and share valuable tips to maximize your impact on social media.
Why an editorial plan for NGOs?
A content calendar, also known as an editorial plan, is a vital tool for organizations to organize, manage, and enhance their social media efforts. This is especially crucial for non-profit organizations, which often operate with limited resources and need to coordinate with larger teams.
With an editorial plan, you can coordinate activities across various social media platforms and ensure that each post is shared at the right time and on the right networks, without missing any important updates. Many non-profits rely on volunteers or part-time staff to manage their social media, making teamwork coordination essential. An editorial plan simplifies this coordination and collaboration process.
Beyond just organizing content, a content calendar also facilitates tracking success and evaluating performance. One of its biggest benefits is the ability to plan content in advance, providing a more relaxed approach to social media management compared to daily ad hoc posting.
Why is it good to plan in advance?
Planning your content ahead of time gives you the luxury of crafting and refining it with care. You’re relieved from the daily pressure of deciding what to share. Creativity flourishes when given time, and planning in advance frees you from the stress of coming up with ideas on the spot. This not only makes your work more enjoyable but also results in higher quality and more engaging content.
When incorporating videos, reels, or other media, it’s beneficial to plan their production. This allows you to arrange necessary equipment or props and gives your participants ample time to prepare.
Not all content can be created independently – sometimes you need input from experts or others. Securing this content requires time and isn’t always possible on short notice.
An editorial plan streamlines your workflow, allowing you to schedule vacations, plan for absences, and allocate buffer time for unexpected events.
What does an editorial plan look like?
An editorial plan is like a timetable for your social media posts. It includes when and where each post should go live, along with other helpful details to keep your team organized.
Here are some useful details to include in your editorial plan
- Title and content details
- Supporting media (image, video, podcast)
- Important hashtags , keywords or mentions
- Who is responsible for content creation and publication
- Where the content is distributed (e.g. Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, Pinterest).
- When it will be published (date and time)
- Deadlines for creating and releasing content
- Processing status (in progress, in review, ready to publish, etc.)
You have flexibility in how you create and display your calendar. You can use a basic Excel sheet, free tools like Asana, or your Outlook calendar. Alternatively, there are many professional tools available that streamline post management and scheduling. With these tools, posts can be automatically published at your chosen times.
Choose a tool that fits your needs, integrates well with your workflow, is user-friendly, allows for efficient work, and, of course, fits your budget.
Agile plans are a must!
Having a plan is crucial because it gives clear instructions for daily social media tasks.
However, it’s important to let go of the idea that an editorial plan is set in stone and can’t be adjusted. In the fast-moving world of social media, sticking to strict plans can actually hinder progress.
Social media changes quickly and requires flexibility:
On social media, trends, challenges, and buzzwords pop up out of nowhere. If you smartly hop on these trends, you can boost your visibility and reach a wider audience. An agile editorial plan lets you stay flexible, tweaking your content to match current trends. Being too rigid might mean missing out on big opportunities.
Social media platforms are always changing their rules, affecting how many people see your posts. With agile planning, you can quickly adjust your strategy to keep up with these changes and stay visible.
Being agile means you can experiment with different ideas and content to see what works best. By constantly learning and adapting, you can fine-tune your social media strategy. But sticking too rigidly to a plan that isn’t evolving could mean missing out on effective strategies.
Social media is all about engaging with customers directly. With an agile editorial plan, you can respond to customer questions, needs, and feedback in real-time, building stronger customer loyalty. If you’re strictly sticking to a schedule, you might miss out on addressing customer concerns, which could lower satisfaction.
How do I create an editorial plan?
Your editorial plan relies on your social media strategy. To create content that hits the mark, you need to understand your audience: their preferences, needs, and how they use social media. It’s important to have clear goals and know which social networks you want to focus on.
Known dates
Start by jotting down all the important dates for the upcoming year, like trade shows, anniversaries, or events. Then, add in relevant themes, holidays, and special occasions, such as the start of vacations, Valentine’s Day, or Children’s Day, to your calendar. If you have regular features like “Fact Friday” or highlighting an employee each month, include those too. This way, your calendar will be filled up right from the start of the year.
Thematic focus
Deciding on a theme for your social media efforts is a good idea. You could pick a new topic every month or choose a specific theme or goal to concentrate on. This simplifies coming up with ideas and creating content.
Editorial meetings
“Fine-tuning” happens during weekly or sometimes monthly editorial meetings. These meetings bring together key people from different departments to talk about what content should be shared in the coming week. We consider current events, customer feedback, data analysis insights, and news from our organization. We decide which posts should go out each day on each platform and who will create them.
An editorial plan is a must-have tool for nonprofits aiming to expand and improve their social media presence.
With a well-defined plan, they can organize and monitor their activities effectively. It gives a comprehensive view of all planned posts and offers a framework for content creation. This structured approach helps maintain clarity and utilize time more wisely.
